In a preview of the Kats’ state tournament’s sectional hosted by Harrison, the Kokomo Wildkats visited non-conference foe Logansport Tuesday night and hung on to earn a tie with the hosts by a score of 3-3 and move to 8-2-1 (3-0-0) on the season. The Wildkats struck first, going up 1-0 in the fifth minute when senior captain Ben Herrera passed the ball across the penalty area to senior winger Gui Baldinu. Baldinu shielded the ball, turned right, and then cut back left and accelerated toward goal, firing into the lower right corner to open the scoring. The Berries responded quickly, scoring from the right side of the box three minutes later when their forward beat the Kats’ defender. Three minutes after scoring their first goal, the Berries scored another on the right side of the box to take a 2-1 lead. The game became more fluid as the Kats broke the Berries’ press in the defensive and middle third through two touch passing and quick interplay. However, in front of the goal, the Kats struggled to notch another goal for much of the remainder of the first half. With 55 seconds remaining in the first half, the Wildkats earned a free kick outside the box on the left flank of the Logansport goal. Senior winger Javier Carrera served the ball into the area, and several Wildkat attackers crashed the area, but sophomore Eli Roe arrived first and redirected the service into the net to tie the match up at 2-2. In the second half, the game opened up a bit more and became a bit more physical. Thirteen minutes into the half, a Wildkat player was sent off, and the Wildkats had to adjust and play with only ten players. The Berries scored eleven minutes later to make it 3-2 with just under 17 minutes left in the match. The Kats played relentlessly, adjusting their shape to the pressure not only from the Berries but also from having to cover more space with less players. Incredibly, the Kats appeared to be playing with 12 players as they broke through the Logansport defense several times and continued to create chances. With just under eight minutes in the match, the Kats’ Baldinu once again penetrated on the right side of the Logansport box and slotted the ball to Herrera who scored to tie the match at 3-3. The Kats hung on to preserve the tie. The Wildkats will regroup and reflect as Logansport will be in the Wildkats’ sectional hosted by Harrison. The Wildkats travel to Anderson Saturday looking to earn a share of the conference championship and remain undefeated in conference play. Your men of the match are seniors Ben Herrera and Gui Baldinu. In the junior varsity match, the Kats played well from box to box, but were unable to finish several chances and dropped their third straight match by a score of 2-0.